Steve Burns
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Even as his bill was met with resistance from many different angles, D.C. Councilmember David Grosso, D-At Large, was steadfast in one priority.

“I have to make sure the cost of the bill is below 1% of payroll tax. I promised the business community I would do that,” Grosso told WMAL. And so far, the promise has been kept, pending the outcome of the C.F.O.’s review. “I think (the business community) has actually come around to the fact that it’s not the end of the world if we can keep it under 1%.”

There are over 100 witnesses scheduled to speak today in front of the Council on the bill, which as already undergone several revisions from Grosso’s original text. Most prominently, the paid leave time period was reduced from 16 weeks to 12. Eligibility requirements were also narrowed. Those no longer eligible include federal employees, and District residents who work outside the city.

“The reality, once we started looking at the modeling, was that most people only take four weeks or five weeks on average. So if I can keep it above that, I’m in a good spot,” Grosso said. “12 weeks is okay, as long as we can continue to have strong wage replacement and expand it to cover as many family members as possible.”

The latter request has also run into challenges. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson amended the bill to narrow who is considered a “family member.” Grosso said the Council will now have to go back and amend the bill continuously every time a worthy case arises.

“I thought it was a mistake for the Chairman to move that around at all, and I don’t think it’ll have a huge impact on the cost, so I’m hoping that as we begin to model this in the C.F.O.’s office, we can put that back out to a more expansive definition.”

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also said this week the bill may be too broad for her to support, something Grosso said was unfortunate.

“I would hate to think that the Mayor, or anyone else, wouldn’t agree that there are lots and lots of circumstances where people need to take time off to care for someone, and they should not have to go bankrupt doing that.”

Copyright 2016 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Office of David Grosso)